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The new Synergistic Research BLUE fuses ....

New SR BLUE fuse thread ...

I’ve replaced all 5 of the SR BLACK fuses in my system with the new SR BLUE fuses. Cold, out of the box, the BLUE fuses stomped the fully broken-in SR BLACKS in a big way. As good as the SR BLACK fuses were/are, especially in comparison with the SR RED fuses, SR has found another break-through in fuses.

1. Musicality ... The system is totally seamless at this point. Its as if there is no system in the room, only a wall to wall, front to back and floor to ceiling music presentation with true to life tonality from the various instruments.

2. Extension ... I’ve seemed to gain about an octave in low bass response. This has the effect of putting more meat on the bones of the instruments. Highs are very extended, breathing new life into my magic percussion recordings. Vibes, chimes, bells, and triangles positioned in the rear of the orchestra all have improved. I’ve experienced no roll-off of the highs what so ever with the new BLUE fuses. Just a more relaxed natural presentation.

3. Dynamics ... This is a huge improvement over the BLACK fuses. Piano and vibes fans ... this is fantastic.

I have a Japanese audiophile CD of Flamenco music ... the foot stomps on the stage, the hand clapping and the castanets are present like never before. Want to hear natural sounding castanets? Get the BLUE fuses.

4. Mid range ... Ha! Put on your favorite Ben Webster album ... and a pair of adult diapers. Play Chris Connor singing "All About Ronnie," its to die for.

Quick .... someone here HAS to buy this double album. Its a bargain at this price. Audiophile sound, excellent performance by the one and only Chris Connor. Yes, its mono ... but so what? Its so good you won’t miss the stereo effects. If you’re the lucky person who scores this album, please post your results here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRASONIC-CLEAN-The-Finest-Of-CHRIS-CONNOR-Bethlehem-Jazz-1975-NM-UNPLAYED-...

Overall impressions:

Where the RED fuses took about 20 hours to sound their best, and the BLACK fuses took upwards of 200 hours of total break-in, the BLUE fuses sounded really good right out of the box ... and that’s without doing anything about proper directional positioning. Not that the BLUE fuses don’t need breaking in, they do. The improvement continues through week three. Its a gradual break-in thing where each listening session is better than the last.

Everything I described above continues to break new ground in my system as the fuses continue breaking in. Quite honestly, I find it difficult to tear myself away from the system in order to get things done. Its truly been transformed into a magical music machine. With the expenditure of $150.00 and a 30 day return policy there’s really nothing to lose. In my system, its like upgrading to a better pre amp, amp, CD player or phono stage. Highly recommended.

Kudos to Ted Denney and the entire staff at SR. Amazing stuff, guys. :-)

Frank

PS: If you try the SR BLUE fuses, please post your results here. Seems the naysayers, the Debbie Downers and Negative Nellie’s have hijacked the original RED fuse thread. A pox on their houses and their Pioneer receivers.

Frank



128x128oregonpapa
fleschler
2,007 posts
 
 That's what I did testing half a dozen brands of vibration devices in 2015.  I chose Stillpoints for my tube gear of various types Ultra and SS.  The absolute worst was the Magico Q-Pods which had blacker backgrounds as claimed but killed the pace of the music most definitely as well as sounding dark and bloated.  Robert and I tried it under all source equipment phono pre-amp, CD player and both pre-amp and amps.  Nada, just bad!   Some of the other vibration devices were nearly as good or similarly good as Stillpoints, but I liked the greater clarity and openness of them over the slight loss of tonal richness.  Then I changed the fuses from stock Littlefuses to Black fuses bring back the tonal richness.

So, when I heard the blue fuse, I immediately liked the sound.  Robert heard them in Frank's system and immediately liked the sound.  So, three unbiased opinions.  And my very critical wife.  The blue fuse is great in our tube based systems based on what our ears tell us.
jkuc
181 posts
 

The real weakness of SR fuses is timbre. My question: is the Blue any better than other SR fuses in this department? 

Willgolf, you did compare Padis and Blue fuses. Your conclusion "..I switched back to the Padis fuse. There is absolutely no degradation of sound and imo it might be better than the SR Blue."

Padis fuses have a reputation of bright sounding. Is the Blue as "bright " as Padis? Personally, I don't like bright sounding systems, not natural, kind of sterile.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 
Even if you accept the premise of a fuse having an audible effect, or better yet hear it for yourself, why on Earth should or could one retail for $150? It is the price more than anything that raises a red flag for skeptics, is it not? Of course, if a money back guarantee is in fact offered, the genuinely curious can listen for themselves. If you don't hear a difference, what does it matter what the designer cites as the rational for it's design, or claims of performance? If you do hear a difference, and assuming it's for the better, the question then becomes does the improvement justify the cost?
imgoodwithtools
236 posts
 
At least ten of us here have testified that we hear an improvement over the stock fuse with SR fuses. Most here agree the new Blue fuse is best. I'm still investigating, and am still on the fence, whether the Blue fuse is best, for me, considering All the competition.

I am an engineer by trade. The Only thing that matters is how does it sound. But if an explanation on how the technology works is available, I'm interested.

I don't want to diminish the fact that $150 is a lot of money. To some people, that's their food budget for the month. But, I'd suggest that if one is considering spending $150 on a fuse, that they are most likely into high-end audio, at least where the benefits can be heard. I spend more than $150 per month on music.

High-end audio is a niche market. There is little or no benefit of scale or volume. Think of the time and money spent on development. Then manufacture. With fuses, all the different loads and sizes. Then packaging and marketing. To my ears, a $150 component that provides what I've heard from fuses is a bargain.
toddverrone's avatar
toddverrone
840 posts
 
@bdp24 it’s an odd phenomenon, but many people only value something if it is expensive. They equate cost with performance. For people of this psychological make up, if something is free or inexpensive, it must be worthless. Likewise, if something is expensive or hard to get, it must be incredible.

Not only does SR sell more fuses this way (because let’s be honest, many audiophiles are in this psychological camp), they also make more money and acquire an air of exclusivity.

This has nothing to do with the performance of the fuses, simply an observation I’ve made, teaching yoga and DJing over the last 20 years. If I offer my services for free, my students aren’t as committed or the people I’m playing for aren’t as interested in what I’m playing. If I charge a bunch, my students are focused and come to class more consistently and my DJ clients promote me more and are more interested in what I’m doing.

Humans. What a weird species
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